Archive for September, 2008
Nigerian Bailout Satire
Saturday, September 27th, 2008The following letter has been floating around the web. If you have ever received an email from a Nigerian scammer (i.e. if you’ve had email for more than a month) it’s quite funny. Dear American: I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude. […]
Assorted Bailout Thoughts
Friday, September 26th, 2008I’m not a Macroeconomist. And, I’m conflicted about the Paulson plan. But, given the recent unprecedented events, I figure I should chime in. A few thoughts: I had a Macroeconomics test today. In our models we assume No Ponzi Schemes. Representative agents aren’t allowed to pay off their debts by borrowing more, and more and […]
Interesting Links
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008I’m preoccupied studying for a Macro test, but here are some interesting stories/sites I have come across recently. Unigo.com: Provides uncensored student reviews of almost every college and university in America. Similar to the Princeton Review, except up-to-date, uncensored, and much more interactive. Prospective college students making a monumental decision are plagued by asymmetric information. […]
A New Take on Bottled Water
Friday, September 19th, 2008Bottled water is immensely popular in the United States. And, while bottle labels display gurgling springs and mountain glaciers, most bottle water comes straight from municipal water sources. The two most popular brands of bottled water, Dasani and Aquafina, (owned by Coke and Pepsi respectively) both get their water right from the tap. Sure, they […]
A Terrible Idea
Friday, September 19th, 2008The SEC bans the short-selling of financial stocks. This is a sad day. Fear and politics triumph over individual freedom and sound policy. Arnold Kling offers a primer on short-selling and why stock prices can fall even if no one is “shorting.” Tyler Cowen notes that investors are still able to short the exchange traded […]
What’s So Special About Email?
Thursday, September 18th, 2008As you problem know, someone recently hacked into one of Sarah Palin’s Yahoo! email accounts and posted a number of her messages on the web. As I suspected, the “hack” was nothing more than resetting the password on Palin’s account by answering her secret question. Apparently, Governor Palin didn’t consider someone might be able to […]
Favorite Lines of the Day
Sunday, September 7th, 2008From Will Wilkinson: That Palin reminded my of my school teachers is a matter of her acquired manner and the assumptions beneath them, a matter of her Upper-Midwest-sounding accent. I’m from a small town. She’s from a small town! And damn straight: people who study at the University of Idaho (which is, in fact, where […]
Are We Running Out of Engineers?
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008No, we are not. From something I came across today: Concerns about the science and engineering job market are not rooted in a classic labor market shortage. The earnings of scientists and engineers are not rising rapidly, relative to other highly educated workers. There are no massive job vacancies in academe, business, or government. If […]